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Sponsoring Joy: A Story of Faith and Transformation
In 2007, a group of college students went to Kenya on a mission trip. I had connected them with Lisa Orr, who was teaching in Nairobi at the time. Lisa had a full schedule planned, but one of the activities fell through. Another missionary suggested she take the team to the Mathare Slum to meet Wallace and Mary Kamau, the founders of Missions of Hope International.
When the students came back home, that’s all they could talk about. Their hearts were stirred. “We have to do something there,” they said. Their compassion sparked something bigger than any of us imagined.
The next year, in 2008, a small group of us traveled to Kenya to see how we might partner with Missions of Hope. We visited several schools and were drawn to Bondeni School because of the incredible head teacher there. That’s where our partnership began.
I’ll never forget my first time walking through the slums of Nairobi. Families living on just a dollar a day. Homes made of tin and scrap wood. No electricity, no running water, yet so much dignity and joy in the people we met. It opened my eyes to what it really means to love others as Christ loves us, to see people the way He sees them.
We began sponsoring children so they could go to school. It’s hard to describe how much that changes a life. At Bondeni, children receive two meals a day and the chance to learn, dream, and grow in faith.
On one of my early visits, I saw a little girl in the crowd and felt God nudging me to sponsor her. Her name was Joy. Over the years, I’ve watched her grow from a shy student into a confident young woman. Every time I visited Kenya, I made sure to see her.
In 2022, Joy graduated from college. From 2008 to 2022, I had the privilege of walking with her, praying for her, supporting her, and watching how God worked in her life. After her father became the pastor of Bondeni Church, I got to know their whole family. I even spent time with them during my sabbatical in 2023.
Joy once told me she wanted to become a social worker so she could give back to the community that changed her life. Today, she’s doing just that. Seeing her live out her faith reminds me of Christ’s love in action, love that doesn’t just give but transforms.
Sponsoring Joy changed her life. But truthfully, it changed mine too. For just $40 a month, I got to be part of God’s story in her life, a story of hope, faith, and love.
This Sunday, November 9, you can be part of that same story. Sponsor a child in Kenya or Haiti. You’ll help change a child’s life, and when you go meet them, you’ll discover just how life-changing Christ’s love can be for both of you.
By: Susie Reeder
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